Justin Liles: Return of wildfire smoke Friday

Tonight, a round of showers is possible as another piece of energy taps into the limited moisture we have available. We’re not looking at much rain as there really isn’t a lot of moisture to work with to create heavy down pours. Scattered lightning and thunder are possible but for mainly areas up north.

Starting tomorrow the pecky low we have been dealing with loitering just north of the International Border will begin to slide south closer to our viewing area. This means the west-northwest flow will likely bring a return of thicker wildfire smoke by the late afternoon hours. The Air Quality Index tomorrow is expected to be orange or unhealthy for sensitive groups category. As a result, the Minnesota Pollution Control agency has issued an air quality alert for all of Minnesota that begins at 8am Friday and lasts through 12pm Saturday.

Scattered showers and storms will likely last through the weekend and into the beginning of next week. Now the biggest changes we see this weekend will be cooler temperatures, along with gusty winds. Stronger storms look to return by the middle of next week.

TONIGHT
A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly between 9pm and 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 59. West wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.
FRIDAY
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 4pm. Sunny, with a high near 82. Breezy, with a west wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
SATURDAY
A chance of afternoon showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 75. Breezy, with a west wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
SUNDAY
A slight chance of showers, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 10am. Mostly sunny, with a high near 71. Breezy, with a west wind 10 to 15 mph increasing to 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph.
MONDAY
A slight chance of showers after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 70. Breezy, with a northwest wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
TUESDAY
Sunny, with a high near 76. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
WEDNESDAY
A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 72. East wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
THURSDAY
A chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 75. Breezy, with a north wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.